An External Argument
by Alley Cat Sunflower
Summary: The Ninth and Tenth Doctors are a bit less than impressed with the Eleventh Doctor holing himself up in the TARDIS on a cloud… so they have a bit of a talk. Mainly venting my immense dislike for the lack of explanation behind Amy and Rory's departure. I do not own Doctor Who!


"I think… you have a problem."

The Doctor jerked his head up glaringly at his previous incarnation, eyes bloodshot, and sniffled, burying his head in his knees. "No," he muttered, taking another swig from his flask of alcohol. He might not have thought much of drinking before he lost the Ponds, but now…

"You're a disgrace to the name of Doctor!" This time, it was the incarnation before last that spoke, standing threateningly over him; the Doctor cowered.

"Am not!" hiccupped the Doctor eventually, standing up weakly and pocketing the flask. "I've lived longer than the both of you!"

"That doesn't make you wiser," murmured his previous incarnation, putting his hands into his pockets (the Doctor remembered doing so when he _was _his previous incarnation, which occupied his foggy mind for a good minute trying to determine who was who). "Come on. You're better than this!"

The Doctor glared at the spiky-haired, wide-eyed, skinny version of himself, but couldn't maintain eye contact. He knew very well he had lived through the loss of Rose without falling into this way of life, and felt vaguely ashamed of himself, but not enough to take back what he had become.

The incarnation before last, however, said nothing, merely standing there with his arms crossed, looking distinctly intimidating in his leather jacket. He gave the Doctor an appraising sort of glance, rife with disappointment, and the Doctor was suddenly riddled with guilt.

"What does this prove to anyone?" His prior incarnation tried again. "What does this do to you, other than make you more miserable? Find River, I don't know. Find _someone. _Go traveling!"

"No!" cried the Doctor, tears streaming down his face, and the incarnation before last (evidently losing patience) belted him in the jaw.

Staggering back into the wall of the TARDIS and sinking to the floor a moment later, the Doctor had no choice but to listen as he gave himself a shouted lecture:

"You are pathetic!" exclaimed his former incarnation, blurred before the Doctor's eyes. "Do you hear me? Pathetic! You just lock yourself up in the TARDIS, floating above Victorian London—do you honestly think that solves anything for anyone? The universe is in danger everywhere and everywhen because _you _are too stubborn to get off your arse and save them!"

"I'm tired of saving everyone!" sobbed the Doctor. "No one ever thanks me—not once…" He sniffled and took another, shaky sip from his flask. "I'm so lonely," he whimpered. "So, so lonely."

"You've come through so much!" yelled his previous incarnation, wild-eyed, and agitatedly began pacing; the Doctor felt the motions, remembering when he had been him, and stared at him, barely comprehending. "We've lost Rose—we wiped our best friend's memory—_we two_ kept going through all that, but not you. Never you!" He trailed off, fury blazing in his eyes, and the Doctor sniffled again.

"I don't have to listen to you," he muttered.

"No, you don't." His prior incarnation's voice was gentle as he knelt next to the Doctor. "But you should." He rose again, exchanging an exasperated glance with the other, disdainful incarnation.

"When you're finished being a little…" The Doctor's former incarnation sighed, trying to find a worse enough word to describe him. "Well, you will have earned the right to speak to me whenever you stop," he growled, turning, and lovingly stroked the TARDIS console.

"Oh, come on!" exclaimed the later incarnation, seizing the Doctor's cheeks. "You've lost only two companions and you_ know_ both of them are happy. And what's to prevent you going back and seeing them, anyway? Fixed time, ha!" He gazed up at the ceiling briefly. "We rescued two people from a fixed point in time once," he murmured. "You remember. And this is only one single, solitary Angel—even if you can't move them back into the present, why can't you _see _them?"

"I don't know," cried the Doctor. "I don't know!"

"Think!" yelled his previous incarnation. "Think! Think! Think!" He slapped the Doctor, who flinched. "Think! Why can't you? _Why _can't you?"

Slumping over, the Doctor thickly tried to formulate an answer; his former incarnations swam before his eyes as the Doctor felt his mind slipping unwillingly into unconsciousness…

_Why can't you? Think! Why can't you think! Why can't you think?_

**((Just a mental image I got in my head of the Eleventh Doctor being all pitiful and the Ninth and Tenth just kind of facepalming…))**


End file.
